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Troy smirked as he stared at Daniel, his eyes twin fires of flickering madness. His fingers curled around the top of the next chair, clawed nails tapping andtinging on the metal. His maleficent smile bore Daniel no goodwill. Not that Daniel expected any, and so he did the only thing he could.
He entered the ring.
Thelial
Theo chose not to hide his true identity as he ran down the hall leading to the arena space oddly devoid of sound except for the exacting crack of bones and a scream of pain.
“Daniel!” Theo leapt into the air as soon as he cleared the lower ceilings of the hallway. From above, he spotted his mate sprawled in the center of the cage, blood pouring from his nose, and a hulking demon standing over him. The tattooed beast raised his foot high.
Fury ripped through Theo. He summoned his sword to his hands as he dove toward the ring. “No!”
The demon’s foot came down. Ribs broke and Daniel screamed again as he curled into a coughing ball of agony. The keening wail of his mate drove Theo into a battle frenzy. A bloodlust he’d never experienced overwhelmed him, one that would only be quenched when the demon who hurt his mate was dead.
The demon raised his arm as Theo swung for his head, and his blade slid along the exposed forearm, slicing deep. Blood poured from the gash, but the demon barely acknowledged the wound.
“Now this is a match worth watching,” Troy called from his seat, clapping. “Viking meet Skull. Round one.” He snapped his fingers and the bell beside the ring clanged. “Begin.”
Theo hovered about the ring, drawing Skull’s attention off his mate. Behind Skull, the guards surrounding the cage sprouted black wings and took to the air.
“Focus on Daniel,” John shouted as he flew by Theo to engage the lesser demons and imps. El was right behind him, blades raised as he joined the fray.
Sy yodeled some crazy sound as burst from the hallway, his sword and shield appearing as he jumped in front of Walt and Glen.
Judah, Ari, and Leo were the next to appear, fighting the human bodyguards on the ground.
Theo harried Skull with slashes of his blade, causing the demon to bleed from a dozen or more gashes. The distraction was enough for Gabriel and Locke to reach Daniel, but as they tried to pull him clear of the ring, he screamed again in pain. The piercing cry cut off as he coughed, whimpering as he hacked up blood.
“Get me to Daniel,” Glen shouted. Theo spun in time to see Ari hurrying to Glen’s side.
A glimpse of black steel flashed by, and Theo jerked backward just in time. The curved blade missed him by mere inches. Skull’s sword whizzed by again and again, each time missing the mark because of Theo’s quick reflexes. The demon roared, his vent of frustration echoing off the high ceilings.
Theo glanced between Skull and Daniel. He had to trust that the other angels and humans would protect his mate because he wasn’t letting anyone else take down Skull. The demon hurt what was his… His chosen mate.
He lifted his blade, clutching the hilt with both hands as he drifted down until his feet touched the mat. Skull produced another blade to match the first. Theo frowned but nodded to himself. He’d fought this combination before: his longsword against an opponent with two shorter blades. He knew what he had to do.
Drawing his confidence around him like a shield, he settled into position. All around them, steel clashed with steel, but Theo tuned it all out. His sole focus was the skull-tatted demon with fire in his eyes.
“You’re dead,” Skull taunted.
Theo scoffed. “Try me.”
Enraged, Skull smashed his blades together, lifted them into the air, and ran at Theo. As he approached, he swung downward. Theo side-stepped and brought his sword up horizontally to deflect. The strike reverberated through his hands and arms, but he ignored it and returned to position, readying for Skull’s next attack.
Skull released his wings. Tattered ebony feathers hung in a macabre fashion from the skeletal membranes. When he shrugged, feathers fell like autumn leaves.
Tears sprung to Theo’s eyes. His heart broke with pity for the demon. He loved his beautiful white wings, and though he would be sad to see them go when Adonai took them, it wouldn’t be because he’d fallen into Lucifer’s hands.
He glanced at Daniel, whose head was propped on Walt’s thigh as Glen poked and prodded. His mate winced with every touch, but his gaze was glued to Theo. Needing to check on Daniel’s prognosis, he inched closer while keeping his attention riveted on Skull who, for whatever reason, wasn’t attacking.
“How is he?”
Glen grunted. “Bad. Broken nose, cheekbone, a couple of ribs, one of which is puncturing a lung. If we don’t get him to a hospital soon…”
“Don’t worry about me,” Daniel coughed and then wheezed, grabbing his side.
“Don’t worry?” Theo’s head moved on a swivel: Daniel, Skull, Daniel, Skull, Sy, El, John, Daniel… “I love you, of course, I’m going to worry about you.”
“You keep saying that,” Daniel gasped.
